We arrived back this morning, after a fabulous weekend. There's so much to do - and we couldn't fit everything in during just a couple of days... so we'll be heading back soon to do a bit more... and a bit more... and a bit more...

Stayed at the Francisco I in Calle Arenal, which is halfway between the Sol & Opera districts. It was about a 5 minutes walk from the Sol Metro. Spotlessly clean, spacious rooms. the staff were extremely helpful and incredibly polite. They really couldn't help us enough. The bathroom had a toilet, bidet, shower and a sink - alll again were spotlessly clean. The room had aircon and heating (much needed during a cold January). We were on the 5th floor. The lift goes to the 4th, then it's a short flight of stairs up to your room. The breakfast was served from 7:30 until 11am each day on the top floor in a quaint (albiet slightly gothis looking dining room). The restaurant was closed when we were there, as was the bar - which was our only complaint about the hotel. Reviews had said that the noise is an issue here. Well my answer to that, is that it's town centre... so yeah... it's bound to be a bit noisy. But that didn't worry us during our stay.

We'll definitely be heading back there this year.

Elle xx

The location is worth it. I stayed at this hotel during an EF tour with my high school. It was the first European hotel that I had stayed in. At first, it seemed kind of old and trashy, but I think this was just in comparisson to American hotels. The old world charm grew on me after three nights, and I was really sorry to leave. My tour went to Paris after Madrid. The hotel we stayed in there was more "American" and closer to what we would consider a "nice" hotel. The problem was that we had to take the metro to the very last stop, then walk for fifteen minutes to get there. This was a huge pain. We had been spoiled by the Hotel Francisco being so close to eveything we wanted to see in Madrid (right next to Puerta del Sol) and being able to go back to the hotel whenever we needed to. We only rode the metro once in Madrid and that was because we wanted to go for a ride. The bottom line is that Hotel Fransisco is not what we Americans are used to, but its location makes up for it big time. If you don't arrive expecting a Holiday Inn Express, I'm sure you will love this hotel. It was a true Spanish experience and I would recommend it to anyone. The only complaint I have is that two of the people in our tour got stuck in the elevator. They were fine, but it made for some funny stories to tell when we got back home!

This hotel was in a brilliant location,you had everything (bars,restaurants,shops etc) right on your doorstep!! the hotel was ok apart from a few minor glitches. We booked a twin room and a quad room and the quad room was fine,clean and had a separate bathroom!!!Twin room was beautiful(was in the newer part of the hotel) bar it had a see-through bathroom,completley made of glass!!! so if you dont mind watching the person who your sharing a room with going to the toilet or having a shower this would be the perfect room for you!!haha!! staff were not the friendliest apart from one young man behind the desk.We didnt vacate our room on time which i understand would be annoying to the hotel manager but we did not expect him to walk into the room as my friend could of been undressing or anything!!! other than that it was quite a pleasant stay and i would recommend it to everyone!!

My wife and I just came back from Spain...We visited several cities including Madrid. Our experience at Francisco I was by FAR the WORST OF ALL. Don't ask for a double bed room; otherwise, you would get a "whole in the wall." We had to change our room for two twin beds. Either one, the rooms are very old....We found holes in our bed sheets and towels....The breakfast was not a good deal!!! All you get is Bread, some pastry, a NASTY "orange juice" and coffee. The building is extremely noisy!!!! Not only do you hear every person walking in the street (because the windows are not sound proof) but also the cleaning crew is loud. To me, they were like a wake-up call when you did not ask for one. But the worst of all (and that's why I am writing this review) was the treatment I got from the front desk personnel (especially the midnight shift). They were very disrespectful... to say the least. My brother was visiting from London and was staying at another hotel... He was visiting me and as we were passing by the front desk, the front desk guy told us in a very "NASTY" and disrespectful way: "Let's see....Who is staying in the room?? We explained to him he was only visitor. We will come back in five minutes.. He replied: "Well, you'd better make it quick!!!, visitors are not allowed here" Of course, after this, I had to argue with this guy!! I would not let it slide. Anyway, the next morning I made a complaint with the manager but I did not get a good impression... Anyway... I will not spend a single dollar at this hotel anymore...On top of the obsolete rooms, noise, and mediocre breakfast; they don't know how to treat customers!!!